“As we look to the future, the importance of developing intelligent connected vehicles (ICV) cannot be overstated,” Andreas Rade, Managing Director of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), got straight to the point at the 2024 World Intelligent Connected Vehicles Conference which opened on October 17.
“Leading the world into an era of intelligent and flying automobile, it is not possible to go it alone. The connection between the automotive industries of China and Germany is deepening, and any idea of decoupling runs counter to such a historical trend,” Rade added in a keynote speech.
The big shot in German automotive industry pointed out that as early as 2018, China and Germany had established a framework MoU on key issues such as policy coordination, standardization and certification to promote in-depth cooperation in the field of autonomous driving and ICVs, including cross-border transmission of vehicle data between the two countries. On April 18 this year, China and Germany once again signed the Joint Declaration of Intent on the Cooperation in the Area of Automated and Connected Driving, making it easier for German automakers to transfer autonomous driving vehicle data from China to Germany. “We have indeed seen China’s door opening wider and wider. China automotive industry has never been greater. Dialogue and collaboration is not just helpful. It’s essential.”
Another guest, Ralf Brandstaetter, Chairman of the Board of Management of Volkswagen AG for China, made an online speech, in which confirmed the close automotive industry ties between China and Germany, or to say the EU.
“In 40 years, together with our strong partners SAIC and FAW we serve around 50 million customers, open nearly 40 factories and employ 90,000 people in this country, showing clearly that how deeply Volkswagen is rooted in China today.”
Mr Brandstaetter introduced that the VW largest development center outside Germany is currently being built in Hefei, Anhui Province. A total of 3,000 local experts are working there exclusively on the development of the latest generation of ICVs, tailor made exclusively for the Chinese market. “Here we are also bundle our corporations with local startups like XPeng or hi-tech companies such as Horizon robotics.”
Stefan Mecha, CEO of Volkswagen China Passenger Cars Brand, echoed the gratifying reality he discovered after years of hard work in the Chinese market.
“Customers in China are very tech-savvy. It’s great that they are really interested in technology! At the end, for us, we need customers that appreciate in ICV cars.”
Mecha mentioned that voice recognition and AI assistants are now found in almost every new car produced in China. Therefore, the core of Volkswagen’s localization strategy is to work closely with Chinese hi-tech companies including intelligent driving, AI, and big data, to develop ICV products that are most suitable for customers here.
All global participants unanimously acknowledged that the current geopolitical tensions, changing trade dynamics and other challenges are jointly affecting global coordinated development, in which openness, dialogue and cooperation are the only solutions. In such a vital pillar industry as automobiles, China has pointed out a path of digitalization and intelligence, and is moving forward hand in hand with partners worldwide.
WICV 2024 attracted more than 250 well-known global vehicle and core parts companies and institutions, and more than 200 new technologies and products were unveiled. As a highlight of this conference, the “Top 10 Global Development Breakthroughs of ICV” jointly researched by more than 200 global experts was released for the first time, involving China’s launch of the vehicle-road-cloud integration application pilots, China’s passenger car L2 intelligent driving new car penetration rate of 55.7%, and the acceleration of research and development of L3 and above intelligent connected vehicles.
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